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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Oh yes, now i remember that thing i wanted to write about, but forgot in my last post.
It was Dream Apartment.
We found it.
Did i even mention that here?
I don't think i did?
Well, we found it, but it wasn't perfect.
Nothing ever is.
But we went to an open house one day to see it, and we both fell in love.
It was even better than it had seemed from the listing, and we were the only ones there which gave us lots of time to explore and ask questions.
It felt like home. It felt like it could very easily be our home.
But future-home had some serious flaws; some of them i had to figure out if i could live with, and others i had to try and change.
For weeks i stayed in touch with the Realtor and tried to work stuff out, but a few days ago i decided it was time to give up on it for good.
I'd realized some things that, if true, would be major deal breakers, and honestly, dreaming about living there, making a home in my head, but not actually having it happen in real life, was too hard for me.
Having a vivid imagination can be a curse.

The reason i was thinking about Dream Apartment that morning was because i'd left my book at the shop.
I don't usually read at work, but i was expecting a long day Friday, and decided to bring it just in case i had time for a chapter.
I didn't, as it turned out, but i'd taken it out of my bag anyway, and forgotten to put it back.
So i was lying there, listening to the thunder move on to other neighborhoods, and thinking about how easy it would be to just go to the shop and grab it... if i lived in Dream Apartment.
I'd take one of my many umbrellas, put on my rain boots and walk to the shop.
It would take me about 5 minutes, if i didn't grab a cup of tea on the way, that is.
While i was there i'd do a little work on the hat i'm making at the moment, and maybe bleach that bird skull i found in Bisserup.
I'd hang around for bit and chat to Eckel, and on my way home, i'd stop by the supermarket to buy food and dish-washing soap.
And then i'd be back home, and it wouldn't have taken hours.
I'd be home, and home would have a big, inviting kitchen and a bedroom so big i wouldn't stub my toes on the corner of the bed, or bang my shin against the dresser drawers, every damn day.
In my head i already bought a new couch.
Damn you daydreaming, you're breaking my heart.

Ok, enough complaining, back to the real subject of this post!
Or at least what the headline suggests would be the subject.

This week was mostly spent in Bisserup by the looks of it.
As you've already seen in this post, it was a pretty cold week, so i didn't get to spend nearly as much time outside as i would have liked.
But we had a nice little vacation anyway.

(Click on the picture for a larger view)

(1. Having a chai, wearing a dress my mom bought me 2. Flower pot at the shop 3. Allan at the cemetery 4. Blooming sunflower
5. On our way to Bisserup, Lucifer and basil in the backseat 6. My parents were throwing a party/concert when we arrived, not in our honor though 7. I do love waking up to this view, no matter the weather
8. Our beautiful homes 9. Dead shrew on the beach 10. Sunbathing mouse on a bench 11.My mom picked us wildflowers 12. Seriously love this so much 13. My reading buddy 14. Seagull skull on the beach
15. I used this fancy thing to make pizza dough 16. My dad was out playing a gig, so we invited my mom over for pizza 17. Rain attire 18. My dad and Lucifer taking a nap 19. Me and Allan shared the most giant, yet cheap, ice cream this part of the country has to offer
20. Windy 21. Me and Allan's home away from home 22. Reading up on how to build a dark room... yes, that's still happening 23. My vacation project: cross-stitch on an old sun dress 24. It rained all day on this day, not a single break 25. The big flower was done from a pattern, the rest i had to improvise 26. Removing the cross-stitch fabric took about two hours! 27. And done! It looks pretty good, actually! 28. The cheese-mobile comes by every few weeks, and my mom buys some every time.... ah, sweet country life!)

Saturday, August 27, 2011

This morning around 6 am, me and the rest of Copenhagen were woken up by a thunderstorm unlike any other we've ever seen.
The light was so yellow. I mean, not just the sky, but everything was yellow.
And the lightning came with just seconds in between them, and the thunder was deafening.
I shook Allan awake right away, and he was so shocked by the light that he wasn't even annoyed with me.
Our houseguest Adam, who had a plane to catch, was wide awake too.
It looked like the end of the world. Or at least what that looks like in my head.
Or a martian invasion in the style of our beloved War of the Worlds.
It scared me and i don't think i've been really scared of a thunderstorm since i was a kid.*
I started thinking about what it would be like to wake up like that, disoriented and a little scared, and not have Allan and Lucifer lying next to me.
That would be the worst.
I've been thinking more about death and loss than i usually do because a dear client and friend of Nick's died last weekend, too sudden and too soon.
We're going to his funeral tomorrow.
There's just nothing fair about that.
This morning, i thought about his girlfriend and their baby.

I just read on the news that after the crappy, rainy weather this weekend, the temperature is gonna drop drastically, and that'll be the end of summer.
What summer, right?

There was something else i wanted to write about, something that kept me awake after thunder had passed, but i can't seem to recall what that was.
Instead, here are some mixed pictures from the last week or so.

Nørrebro's water got contaminated by poop bacteria, and for 5 days we had to use bottled water, or boil tap water twice, at the shop

My workroom and a hat in progress

I made a shadow hippo by accident while waiting for my tea to steep, and was so excited about it that i yelled at Allan across the shop to come take a picture (he seemed impressed too!)

Adam got attacked by Gary, the newest member of the Conspiracy Zoo of the Dead

Sorry for the gloomy post.
I'm actually in an ok mood today, compared to many other days during this complete shitbomb of a summer.
Right now i am dying my hair, and tonight we're seeing Arcade Fire.
Oh, and Lucifer is sleeping with his rat toy as a pillow next to me.

*Back then they terrified me. If i was at school and i heard thunder, i'd hide under a table. It's a wonder i wasn't teased more that i was.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Yeah, not this week, or last week.
Just a week.
I can't be bothered to go through my instagram and do this chronologically, so the next few insta-posts will be a little on the random side.
You don't mind, do you?
Duplicates may occur, and if that happens, i apologize in advance!

(Click on the picture for a larger view)

(1. A heron at Frederiksberg Have 2. Me and Lucifer in that same park 3. My boys at the café 4. Gloomy skies on the way home from work
5. Self portrait at the shop... not sure why 6. Anne's cat 7. I started Voyager, or Next Generation Light, as they might as well have called it 8. My very old amethyst necklaces as bracelets 9. Me and him 10. New obsession, a birthday gift from my mother in law 11. Lucifer in the park 12. Eating a rather unsatisfying avocado sandwich 13. Sunflower 14. French embroidery pattern book
15. At the shop alone one day, dreaming about having a balcony... 16. Embroidery stuff, ready to take home 17. In my head, i was already decorating Dream Apartment 18. Going to Sweden! 19. Sweden, posted after we came home
20. Danish snail meets Swedish snail)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

These next pictures are also from our vacation, more specifically, the week we spent in Bisserup.
I guess i'd used up most of the film in Sweden already, but that's ok, cause these aren't nearly as good!
But here they are anyway.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

I was seconds away from opening photoshop to do one of my famous and well-loved (what? In my head they are!) instagram collages, when i decided... nah.

Not that i don't wanna do another fabulous insta-piece, i do, and i even wanna get back to posting them more on the regular so they don't end up ridiculously long like this one. I just didn't wanna do it right now.

I could go into how crappy i've been feeling lately, or how uninspired i've been, but what good will that do?

Sure, venting is nice, and i haven't done an honest emo post in a while, but right now, i think doing a post on a somewhat recent creative success might be healthier.

Maybe it'll even inspire me to get working again, and that's probably exactly what i need.

Me, me, me... this is dangerously close to becoming an emo post anyway.

Enough of that!

A while ago i got commissioned to do a wedding hat for a girl in England.

A top hat.

A custom mini top hat, to be exact.

In spite of never having done a hat like that before, and not having a clue about how to make such a hat, i said yes without hesitation.

I realize now that i probably should have thought about it some more before accepting, but at that point it was too late, and instead if panicking, i got to work.

I can't say exactly how many hours i put into this piece, but i started in March and finished in July.

So a few.

Tem, my client, was super easy to work with, and pretty much gave me permission to just do my thing.

Inspired by her keywords, and her gorgeous dress, i worked my ass off, gave it my best shot and learned a whole lot in the process.

Mostly i learned that i wanna learn more.

Funny how that works.

I'll always be able to find a thousand flaws with everything i do, and that's probably never gonna change, but i am happy with the result anyway, and more importantly, so was Tem.

Here are some pictures Allan took before i shipped it off to its destination, followed by a few pictures Tem sent me from the wedding.

Hopefully i'll see more as they get through editing what i'm sure is a shit ton of wedding photos.

Front

Tilt

Hand dyed and beaded vintage lace, probably my favorite detail

Tem sent me a sample of her dress fabric to match the colors from, but i ended up using it as a band

The berries were actually added after a spontaneous instagram poll voted in their favor

Lots of feathers

I didn't have any pictures of my client before starting the piece, and therefore no clue what she looked like, so of course i was thrilled to see how lovely she was

So damn romantic

Seriously though, doesn't this look like the kind of wedding you'd love to get invited to?

More clients like this, please!

I've done other wedding pieces too, and i honestly can't say why i never got around to posting them, but i will do that. Post them.

They're on my website, of course, but that's not the same at all.

I should probably start by getting the pictures from my shop to my home computer, right?

Yeah, that'd be a good start.

Oh, and by the way, since we're on the subject of creativity, or lack thereof; i went to the fabric store today, bought some really pretty furniture fabric and some luxury velvet (really, that's what it's called) and had a nice talk with the manager who usually seems so grumpy.

Friday, August 19, 2011

I've been bringing my pink Holga with me on vacations for a while now, mostly Bisserup actually, but to Sweden too when we went there a few weeks ago.
But unlike my husband, who's on a first name basis with everyone down at the photo shop, i have a a tendency to forget to get my films developed.
But after taking a bunch of pictures of the kids in Sweden, i got curious to see how they turned out.
And of course there was already film in the camera, and a few others lying around too, so now i have, like, three or four developed films!

A large portion of the pictures are crap, as usual, but there must be something magical in the air in Sweden, cause most of the pictures i took there, with my notoriously difficult camera, actually turned out pretty good.
Win!
I haven't uploaded them all, obviously, as there were shit ones too, but a few good ones, once in a while, is really all i need.

No photoshop was used, apart from resizing, which is ok, right?
I even resisted the urge to crop them, and that was hard.

Anyway, here they are, hope you like them.

The magical lake

Allan and a pine tree

Someone can't swim yet

Sweet boys

The moose had somehow rubbed off most of the pine needles

The woods

Yonas in the sky

The house

Another one

Double exposure goodness

Favorite

Should we jump?

Land/sky

What?!

Thistle

I must have let Allan or William play with my camera for this one

Seriously though, these are pretty good, right?
The Bisserup ones from this summer and last summer aren't nearly as nice, but i'll be posting them soon anyway.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

We're back from vacation now.
And back to work.
I already did a tiny rant on the other blog, but it's really not too bad.
I've just really been hit hard by the no-summer depression, and being back to work and facing fall is just... so damn sad.
I'm in denial about it most of the time though, and that always helps.

But hey, even though everything sucks, fun stuff can still happen and on Saturday it definitely did!

Saturday was my second time at a Copenhagen Burlesque party.*
I'd like to say i was well prepared this time, but i am a last minute person, so i really wasn't.
But i got lucky and ordered some stuff online that actually showed up on time, and i managed to put together an awesome costume.
As an added bonus, Mille and Sofie had gotten similar costumes, so we matched each other perfectly.
It was pretty spectacular!

We met up on Friday at the shop, with us coming straight from the summer house, all messy looking, me with paint in my hair from helping my mom paint a ceiling.
The girls had brought along their costumes and i got the job of making hair accessories and alter dresses. As you can probably imagine, i didn't mind that one bit.
My own costume was more or less done, and at home, so i just kept my fingers crossed that everything would fit and work out as planned.

On Saturday we'd decided to meet and get ready at our place cause it's close to the venue, and because Allan could do a nice little photo setup in the living room.
We spent the afternoon doing our make up, getting dressed, eating sushi, drinking about two bottles of champagne, and taking a whole lot of pictures.
I believe i took some pictures at the party too, but i haven't transferred them yet, so for now i'll just share the ones Allan took.
They're way prettier anyway!
But there are a few shots from the party over on Christel's blog, so go check that out too.

Ok, hold on to your hats and laptops, cause this is gonna be a long post!

Our hair accessories, waiting to be worn

Mille had bought a ton of white make up, which was easy to apply on me, but not so easy on her very tanned "just-got-home-from-Greece" skin

The pictures on this blog are my pictures, taken by me, unless stated otherwise.The text is written by me, unless stated otherwise..If you post something of mine on your own blog please ask first, and make sure you credit me and link to this blog and we're all good. Need to get in touch? Write me at floraamalie@gmail.comThanks for taking the time to read this, i hope you enjoyed visiting my blog!